Having won the recently concluded Test series 3-1, the Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team will lock horns with the world's top-ranked T20I team England in the first match of the five-match series at the newly named Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera on Friday, March 12.
The visitors would look to return to winning ways under limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan, who will lead the white ball sides in the upcoming five T20Is and three ODIs after taking over from Test captain Joe Root.
India and England have played each other 14 times in the shortest format of the game, with both teams winning seven matches each. In their last five encounters in the T20 format, Team India has managed to win four times with Rohit Sharma smashing an unbeaten ton in their last fixture against England. Watch India vs England first T20I live!
On home soil, India have faced England six times, with both teams winning three apiece.
England are expected to pose a tough challenge as 13 of the 16 players in their T20I squad have prior experience of playing in the Indian T20 League.
Both the teams are starting to concentrate on their preparations in the shortest format ahead of the World T20 that will be held in India in October-November.
India vs England 1st T20I full squads
India T20I squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.
England T20I squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wicket-keeper), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wicket-keeper), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
India vs England 1st T20I playing XI predictions
India predicted playing XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (captain), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini
England predicted playing XI: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wicket-keeper), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan (captain), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer
Where to watch India vs England 1st T20I live?
The India vs England first T20I will be telecast live at 7:00 PM IST on Star Sports 1 HD and Star Sports 3 HD, along with the corresponding SD TV channels on Friday, March 12.
Live streaming of the IND vs ENG 1st T20I will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.
For India vs England odds and betting, visit Sportsbet.io and look for ODI Series India vs England.
Feature image courtesy: DAVID GRAY / AFP
